Recognise Bank has agreed a £670,000 commercial mortgage for an experienced care home provider.

The loan will enable the client, The Lewis Group, to purchase Bay Tree House in Gravesend, Kent, which will be used as a residential children’s home.

The Lewis Group was introduced to Recognise Bank by Empire Commercial Finance. The case had been put to a number of other lenders before being introduced to Ian Fields, business development manager at Recognise.

The borrower was able to utilise Recognise’s commercial mortgage, using makeweight security from their existing portfolio.

The premises required reconfiguration and development for trading, which has now been completed. The Lewis Group is currently finalising the Ofsted authorisation process and the expectation is that Bay Tree House will see its first residents move in by the end of July.

Martin Johnson, director at Empire Commercial Finance, said: “There is chronic under-provision of this type of children’s care home. Thankfully Ian and the Recognise Bank team understood the social purpose and saw the business case was sound. We all worked hard to get this case successfully through to completion.”

David Lewis, director of The Lewis Group, added: “I was very pleased with Recognise Bank. They were good people to deal with and very personable. Often you get pushed from pillar to post with other lenders, whereas with Recognise we dealt with the same people through the whole process. I’d definitely work with them again.”

Fields concluded: “We were more than happy to finance an experienced business which provides much-needed residential care facilities for children. Unlike with other lenders, at Recognise Bank we look at every aspect of the business case to create a bespoke solution to meet borrowers’ needs, and this deal highlights our approach perfectly.”